


Night Watch

by cosmicmilktea



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), M/M, Slayer-Watcher Relationship, Supernatural Elements, Watcher Jongdae
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 04:59:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14609886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicmilktea/pseuds/cosmicmilktea
Summary: It's 4:30 am on a Tuesday and Baekhyun is bleeding out on a pavement, blood on his lips, bits of charred demon on his hair, and calculus test in a mere few hours.But Jongdae is there, so things will probably turn out all right.





	Night Watch

                                                             

 

It's 4:30 am on a Tuesday and Baekhyun is bleeding out on a pavement - A trail of ash, blood, and bits of teeth leading to his prone form from a nearby charred tree.

The good news amongst this alarming tableau is that the world is (temporarily) safe from a deranged nether demon that wants to turn it into its personal playground. Everything else is just bad news, really, probably ever since he found out two years ago that he was the fabled Slayer and guardian of the Nether Gate – tasked to, well, guard it, until the day he croaked and someone else got the lucky draw.

 _One boy in all the world,_ the prophecy had said, and Baekhyun used to want to feel _special_ , feel needed and important. But not like this. Not wrung out and bruised and bleeding on a Seoul pavement while the world goes on and on without even knowing that it was saved, much less by _him_.

"It's never going to stop, is it" Baekhyun breathes miserably, disregarding Jongdae’s admonishment to stay quiet until he finishes stitching him up. The man himself is bent over Baekhyun’s abdomen, a look of concentration on his usually smiling face as he pulls the last stitch over his wound, and mutters a spell that takes what remaining breath Baekhyun had in his lungs – washing his whole being with a cold _woosh_ that feels like a dunk in a Soju mixer bowl (Baekhyun is definitely not answering any questions about how he came to be familiar with the feeling. Lust demon, long story)

“If you’re talking about the bleeding, then I just stopped it” Jongdae says breezily “And if it’s that Gwishin, then I’m pretty sure that you stopped it right in its tracks – There’s no way folks from that place are even going to so much poke at the gates after what you did just now”

Then his brows furrows a bit and he looked Baekhyun straight in the eye “And what did I tell you about staying quiet while I fix you up?”

Baekhyun shrugs.

 

Out of the two of them, with his books and his sober cardigans, people would probably be inclined to peg Jongdae as the pessimist. But being the Slayer sort of does things to your belief in a kind and benevolent world, what with the amount of time you get skewered, bitten, and thrown around by things that would have made Kyungsoo, his sadistic Dungeon Master, proud. He knows the same could be applied to Jongdae, that as Baekhyun’s sworn Watcher, he is also subject to the same things he encountered. That Jongdae also has his fill of wounds and magical damages and being thrown into walls.

But Jongdae, Jongdae is different. Baekhyun doesn’t know if it was his Watcher training that allowed Jongdae to be so impartial and calm about everything, or it is just the way he is and no amount of supernatural mayhem or near-apocalypses will shake it. He pictures the end of the world, skies all red and the ground splitting at the seams and there would be Jongdae – Hair neatly fringed and cardigan only slightly rumpled, lips curling up at the edges in a bright smile while he says “We got this, Baek. We can fix this”.

Honestly, Baekhyun thinks he would actually believe him too. It’s hard not to, the way Jongdae smiles.

But smile or no smile, It’s nice to have a Watcher. Baekhyun spent the first year of his Slayer career just randomly killing demons and getting stabbed in creative places and wondering what the heck he’s supposed to be doing – the dreams and portents reaching him much earlier than the Watcher council could. When they finally contacted him, through the form of one rather apologetic Kim Jongdae, Baekhyun is more or less a veteran in his own right - Back riddled with scars and more than a tad angry at them for being so _late_.

It took Baekhyun a week to realize that it’s really hard to stay mad at Jongdae.

Unlike most Watchers, who preferred the safety of libraries and bestiaries and research, Jongdae is a self-trained Shaman and exorcist – Somehow sanctioned by both the Vatican and some order of traditional priests or some shit. But whoever blessed Jongdae, his spells and potions alike has been the best thing that has ever happened to Baekhyun ever since the 24-hour convenience store down third street started serving hot, cheap tteokbokki for his cold nightly patrols.

And then there is the fact that Jongdae is just so…sunny, for a lack of a better word. Baekhyun knows he’s loud, that he laughs and flirts incessantly but he is not Jongdae – Doesn’t have his reassuring smile and the surprisingly strong arm that loops around his back and made him feel warm, secure.

Well good thing he has Jongdae, too. Baekhyun gingerly flexes his newly-healed body and groans. He really can’t think how the hell he survived without Jongdae before. Like, did he staple his wounds shut or what? Baekhyun honestly can not remember. 

 

Baekhyun reckoned he must have looked especially glum, as Jongdae slowly kneels beside him and proceeds to ruffle his hair – Something he usually reserves for end-of-the-world scenarios or really bad calculus test results.

“You’re right” He says after some time, voice soft and low like it only gets when they’re like this, when Baekhyun’s like this.

“It’s probably never going to end” Jongdae continues, fingers carding through Baekhyun’s already tousled hair in a way that made him want to purr, or some other mortifying shit. Baekhyun really needs to get some sleep, damnit.

“But we know that you’re not going to stop either, right? And seeing how stubborn you are, you’d probably win this out easy peasy” Jongdae's fingers slid down to tilt his chin, too gentle for words, coaxing Baekhyun to look his Watcher in the eye. "You got this, Baek. _We_ got this"

Baekhyun can’t help but chuckle weakly – It was all he can do, for fear of doing things to his pristine stitches, and because it was better than bursting into tears right there right then. Scrap the purring, Baekhyun want to cry and curl up in his Watcher’s lap and burrow into his nice-smelling cardigan, to the Nether with propriety and the Watcher’s code and everything else. Because he is tired and Jongdae is here and he's just an  _inch_ away from jumping his own Watcher because all this shit, all this is just _too much._

Instead, his trusty old stomach decides to take over, and rumbled loudly through the cold night air.

It takes a moment for the moment to break completely, more for both of them to start laughing in earnest, voices muffled by each other’s shoulders and Jongdae half heartedly scolding him for his freshly healed wound. By the time they are done, Jongdae offers him a hand, pulling Baekhyun up from the pavement and dusting the remnants of nether demons off his favorite jeans.

“We’re just a few blocks away from the convenience store – I’ll treat you to some Tteokboki and milk tea – How does that sound?”

Baekhyun’s stupidly wide grin is the only answer Jongdae ever needs.

It's 5 AM on a Tuesday, and Baekhyun might be losing a bit too much blood, and the whole world is just a few days (weeks, if they’re lucky) away from being swallowed up (Again) by the ever-encroaching darkness. But he has his Watcher with him, and piping hot Tteokbokki and milk tea, and everything is going to be just fine.

 

They got this.

 

 


End file.
